Start Composting!

Make a change to how you dispose food and paper waste!

Composting provides so many benefits for the gardener and the environment. A subtle change to how you dispose of organic household waste can reduce your contribution to landfills while providing a rich organic fertilizer for enriching your garden!

Composting provides so many benefits for the gardener and the environment. A subtle change to how you dispose of organic household waste can reduce your contribution to landfills while providing a rich organic fertilizer for enriching your garden!

Compost is created when green and brown organic materials release nitrogen and carbon, resulting in a rapid decomposition process. “Green” materials include fresh lawn or kitchen waste, such as grass clippings and vegetable peels. “Brown” materials are dead plant matter, such as newspaper, dry leaves or hay. A ratio of 4 parts brown material to 1 part green material will provide the appropriate carbon to nitrogen balance to create compost.

You can create compost in a pile or in an enclosed container. To get started, use a plastic wastebasket with a few holes drilled in the sides. Layer brown and green materials, and dampen each layer with the hose as its added. Put a lid on the container to trap in heat. Turn the compost with a pitchfork on a weekly basis because aeration is important to decomposition. Compost will ripen in three to four months. Recognize ready-to-use compost by its brownish-black color, crumbly texture and fresh, earthy smell.

Homemade compostis the organic gardener's best friend. Use compost to enrich soil when preparing your garden bed, or spread compost atop the soil as a direct fertilizer. You can even brew compost with water to make compost tea—an organic liquid fertilizer.